Prevalence, Penetrance, and Phenotypic Manifestation of Cardiomyopathy-Associated Genetic Variants in the General Population: Insights from a Mayo Clinic Biobank Study

Mayo Clin Proc. 2024 Nov;99(11):1732-1743. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2024.05.027. Epub 2024 Oct 10.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence, penetrance, and disease expression of cardiomyopathy-related genetic variants in an unselected, richly phenotyped Mayo Clinic population in the setting of preemptive sequencing, with return of incidental findings following the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics recommendations.

Patients and methods: We analyzed a quaternary medical center-based biobank cohort (n=983) for reportable variants in 15 cardiomyopathy genes. Prioritization of genetic variants was performed using an internally developed pipeline to identify potentially reportable variants. Prioritized variants were then manually curated. The correlation of likely pathogenic/pathogenic (LP/P) variants with clinical phenotypes and outcomes was established. Artificial intelligence-enabled electrocardiographic predictions of reduced left ventricular ejection fraction and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy were applied to genotype-positive (G+) participants.

Results: Of the 983 patients, 11 (1%) were G+, with 11 LP/P variants found in the MYBPC3, DSG2, MYH7, DSP, and PKP2 genes. All G+ participants underwent electrocardiography, and 10 (90%) underwent echocardiography. Most patients (10 [90%]) did not have a prior diagnosis of cardiomyopathy. Definitive disease penetrance (heart failure or cardiomyopathy) was present in 4 (36%), while 3 (27%) had possible penetrance (structural heart disease identified by echocardiography). Arrhythmias and/or cardiac conduction disease was present in 4 of 11 G+ individuals (36%). Artificial intelligence-electrocardiography was positive for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or reduced left ventricular ejection fraction in 5 of the G+ participants (45%), of whom 4 (80%) had definitive or possible disease penetrance.

Conclusion: Cardiomyopathy-associated LP/P variants are present in a small subset of a quaternary medical center population, and disease penetrance in G+ individuals is high in the form of cardiac structural abnormalities and heart failure.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Biological Specimen Banks*
  • Cardiac Myosins / genetics
  • Cardiomyopathies* / diagnosis
  • Cardiomyopathies* / epidemiology
  • Cardiomyopathies* / genetics
  • Carrier Proteins
  • Desmoglein 2 / genetics
  • Echocardiography
  • Electrocardiography
  • Female
  • Genetic Predisposition to Disease
  • Genetic Variation
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Myosin Heavy Chains
  • Penetrance*
  • Phenotype*
  • Plakophilins / genetics
  • Prevalence
  • Stroke Volume

Substances

  • myosin-binding protein C
  • PKP2 protein, human
  • Plakophilins
  • DSG2 protein, human
  • MYH7 protein, human
  • Desmoglein 2
  • Cardiac Myosins
  • Carrier Proteins
  • Myosin Heavy Chains